Hot Topics:

W. Jerry Allen: The Boulder bandshell is a community gathering place

Posted:
02/16/2014 01:00:00 AM MST

The Boulder we knew and loved when we moved here is dying. Look no further than the greedy attempt to paint the heart of our fair city as a blight, as nothing more than a place for the homeless to hang out. Oh, the inhumanity of such condition, homeless people defiling the yuppie image of Boulder, God forbid!

On the contrary, the iconic bandshell at Boulder Central Park — our local “Red Rocks” or “Hollywood Bowl” — is the one central area of the city for all people to gather, dance and sing songs, hear civic voices, picnic and commune with neighbors from near and far. To move it across or out of town is like moving your heart to your derriere — out of sight, out of mind, it’s vitality lost forever. No more free concerts; no more central place for the citizenry to marvel at the most colorful and creative among us; no more enrichment of the soul of Boulder community.

Before it’s too late, like-minded town folk need to rise up against the forces of greed, for that is all this is. Conservative capitalists see Boulder as merely a desirable place to make money because of the very sacrifices our forefathers made to make Boulder as attractive as it is today. They see not a community, but simply opportunity to make a buck and leave us with just another commercial abomination. If the bandshell is moved, what will replace it? What will be next, the Farmers’ Market? Central Park itself?

I have to agree, though, with Roger Burkart, local landscape architect, who wrote in his “The Boulder bandshell is now a dysfunctional place,” that fencing is not the answer. It’s not. Instead, the Boulder Police Department should make a proud point of patrolling the park even more — every few minutes, in fact, as officers drive by it constantly.

Advertisement

As proud Boulderites, who want our bandshell to stay and be cared for, we have to recognize the winds of unbridled capitalism are blowing in Boulder. We aren’t stick-in-the-mud, anti-capitalists hell-bent for yesteryear, but we are cognizant of our responsibility to give to our heirs that for which we have so richly benefitted from our ancestors. To do otherwise, is to simply sell-out. Tell that to your grandkids.

New coordinator pushes Buffs to work, play at level he expectsJim Leavitt has discovered this much about his new defense at Colorado: He has some talent with which to work, but his players need to put it in another gear. Full Story